"As long as I had my team and my fans and my family on my side, then sky's the limit. I knew I had it in me...I hope this makes other fighters want to fight me and I think it will. I want people to want to fight. me. Hopefully the bigger names will want to fight me, even if they want to bring me in as the opponent. I'm fine with that. I've done it more than once and I think it will open up a lot of eyes that I can compete with the top fighters," stated welterweight contender Jaime Herrera, who talked about his 7th round TKO of Mike Jones this past Saturday at the Bally's Event Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Check it out!
PC: Congratulations on the win over Mike Jones. How do you feel about your performance?
JH: You know what? I gotta watch the video. I'm pleased with the outcome, but I know I made a lot of mistakes and I paid the price for them and I gotta watch the video and see what I done wrong and go from there.
PC: I like that because a lot of fighters would be content with the outcome and not focus on the mistakes they made.
JH: Absolutely. That's what it is all about, learning and getting better from your own errors.
PC: I never for a minute thought that you would be a pushover for Mike Jones. Were you a little surprised that they picked you as his opponent coming off of his layoff?
JH: Honestly, yes. Me and my whole team were all kind of shocked. We were happy to have an opportunity like this to show people who I am and that I can compete against a top elite fighter like Jones. I was very shocked that he chose us and was honored at the same time.
PC: Were you seriously hurt when you went down or was it just a flash knockdown?
JH: It was honestly a flash knockdown. It happened out of nowhere and when I got up, it was over with. It wasn't like I was stunned or hurt; it was just a flash knockdown and honestly, I was in shock that it happened.
PC: I'm sure you have watched Jones fight several times leading up to your fight with him. Is there anything about him that surprised you during the course of the fight?
JH: He was pretty much as advertised from the videos that I seen. We took a lot of time to watch his videos to see what kind of a fighter he was, so it was nothing out of the ordinary to prepare for.
PC: Talk us through the end of the fight.
JH: During the fight, I can see his legs were starting to give out a little, so that gave me the confidence because I knew he didn't have much more in him and I knew if I pressure him more and let my hands go a little bit more, maybe I could put this fight away. The start of the 7th round, they were tentative about letting him come out, so I knew something was going on there. I was thinking maybe the cut on his eye was affecting him, so I figured let me target the eye and that way, maybe the doctors can stop it.
PC: Were you shocked to be so big of an underdog going into that fight, or do you not get surprised by anything in boxing anymore?
JH: At this point, no, I'm not surprised at all. I was expecting to be the big underdog. No one knows who I am. I don't expect people to respect me in the sport or expect to have anything handed to me. Jaime Herrera is a nobody, so it was completely fine with me. As long as I had my team and my fans and my family on my side, then sky's the limit. I knew I had it in me.
PC: What did you learn about yourself on Saturday night or what did you take away from that fight?
JH: I learned a lot, man. Taking a punch like that doesn't mean a fight is over. That's the main thing I learned is that you get dropped, you can still win the fight and you can push the fight and just keep going and going. That's what it taught me is to keep going until the last bell rings and anything can happen like that.
PC: Did you ever feel he was breaking or uncomfortable in there with you?
JH: If he was uncomfortable, he did a good job of hiding it. I knew he wasn't letting his hands go as much as he usually was because I was hoping to counter around his power punches; that way he would think twice before he threw the punches. I noticed that during the fight, he wasn't throwing as much as he usually throws.
PC: Moving forward, you are on a five-fight winning streak. What would you like to do next?
JH: Honestly, just go to the gym and start working on my mistakes and let everything happen on it's own. If another great opportunity comes, obviously I'm gonna jump to it and take it. Until then, I just want to keep fixing my errors. I wanna keep getting better. I don't want to be the same person I was yesterday tomorrow. I hope this makes other fighters want to fight me and I think it will. I want people to want to fight. me. Hopefully the bigger names will want to fight me, even if they want to bring me in as the opponent. I'm fine with that. I've done it more than once and I think it will open up a lot of eyes that I can compete with the top fighters.
PC: I wish you the best of luck moving forward and congratulations again. Is there anything else you want to add?
JH: I just want to give credit to Mike Jones. He's a great fighter and I looked up to him and I hope he has a speedy recovery, and I truly hope that he continues his career because he's a hell of a fighter.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]